Sprinkler devices of the prior art for spraying or sprinkling areas, such as ground areas of grass or plants, generally do not evenly sprinkle particular defined areas accurately. FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a plurality of conventional sprinklers A spraying semi-circular patterns which overlap, some areas getting substantially more spray and water than others, as indicated at B.
Sprinkler devices according to the invention provide relatively accurate and equalized spraying over predetermined defined areas, such as a generally rectangular area. FIG. 2 shows diagrammatically a plurality of sprinklers 10 of the invention arrayed to spray respective defined rectangular areas C evenly.
FIG. 3 is a top view of a sprinkler device 10 of the invention in relation to a reduced scale showing of a rectangular area being evenly sprayed. FIG. 3A is a top view of an assembly of two sprinkler devices of the invention mounted in a common frame 11 and spraying respective rectilinear areas evenly.
A sprinkler device according to the invention comprises a base for attachment to a conventional sprinkler assembly, and a nozzle mounted on the base and adapted to provide a liquid jet of a predetermined cross-sectional configuration. Typically, the liquid jet would be rectilinrar in cross-section. The liquid jet impacts a reflector surface contoured and adapted to reflect the liquid jet into a spray to a defined area to be sprayed. The spray has a cross-sectional configuration similar to that of the liquid jet from the nozzle passage, thus to spray an area of generally similar configuration relatively accurately.
The reflector surface has variations from a generally convex surface, thus to reflect respective spray portions with respective inclinations from the reflector surface to define respective portions of a spray to respective portions of an area to be sprayed.